


Weapons

by vigilantesinthedark



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Character Study, If you've read some of my other stuff you know what's good, Introspection, M/M, No Dialogue, Or not good depending on your opinion of my writing, Timeline bounces around between different movies, Weird half-poetry half-fic style writing, You know how I roll with these things, in which case, or maybe you don't, please read on and find out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 11:50:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15485118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vigilantesinthedark/pseuds/vigilantesinthedark
Summary: weapon (noun):something used to injure, defeat, or destroy.Steve Rogers was a fighter, no two ways about it. James Barnes wasn't a weapon; the Winter Soldier was. In the end, they destroyed each other.





	Weapons

**Author's Note:**

> Another one of these half poem half fic things, which I hope you all enjoy reading as much as I like writing them!

Steve Rogers was, is, always will be a ticking time bomb, a constant countdown to explosion or self destruction. Large as a tank and just as strong, every inch was calculated to contain his fighting spirit. Short and thin as a stick of dynamite, he packed twice the power. He would fight for anyone, any cause, save his own, because weapons didn't defend themselves. 

James Barnes was, is, always will be reluctant to join the fight. Serving in a war he had no want for, saving his friend from a fight that wasn't his own. James Barnes was no weapon, but the Winter Soldier was. Every gear and nerve calculated to kill. As much as he struggled against being the Asset, he was always a weapon, had a weapon welded onto him. Hydra- like blacksmiths of old- would fix damage he incurred. He didn't try to prevent the injuries, because weapons didn't defend themselves. 

After losing everything many times over, Steve's hollow form was stuffed with shrapnel and told to hold together, don't release anything until in front of a target. In the hands of his superiors, he was dangerous. By himself, he could be, but not when facing the only weapon that could fell him. A weapon made to hurt him by being warped into a weapon: Bucky. 

After having everything erased more than he could ever remember, the hollow shell of Bucky Barnes was never filled, just made to carry on. In the hands of his handlers, he was dangerous. By himself, he could be, but not when facing the only weapon that could fell him: his unknowns. His Swiss cheese memory- more holes than substance- left him hostage to the emptiness in his mind. 

Steve Rogers had just gotten his life back. Bucky was the only thing left of who he used to be that wasn't the property of a museum. Finding him again- as himself, or as much of himself as he could be anymore- was the first air Steve's drowning lungs had ever breathed. And now that breath of fresh air was literally crumbling away before his eyes. Dust mixed with dirt, irreparable and irreplaceable. Steve managed to tear himself from the ground and march onwards. His emotions were buried down so far they might as well have not been there at all. All that was left was a weapon. 

James Barnes has just gotten his life back. His arm- like him- was new, improved. No longer a weapon for tearing down, but a tool for building up. He was getting wisps of a past he could vaguely remember, he was forging a future. Like a phoenix, he was rising from the ashes of what was taken from him. Until he became ashes again. He was floating away into yet another unknown. The machine gun he had carried dropped to the ground, the only noise in silent sorrow. All that was left was a weapon. 

Had they been gifted a moment of peace together, they could have been unstoppable. But they were a damn tradgedy, the Romeo and Juliet of mutually assured destruction. Because you never make just one weapon. You make a backup in case the first one fails, gets compromised. They were a perfect set; eliminate one and the other would self-destruct to match.


End file.
